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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me, oh yeah! Lookout! Today was certainly one of those days my friends. You know the kind, one of those days when you come across someone or several people as the case may be, who seem quite oblivious to showing a little respect. It really makes me wonder is this a concept that is going out of style. I mean really! Maybe it's just me, but it seems more and more people expect respect from others but are ignorant about forwarding respect towards another.

Let me tell you how I was raised! I was raised to respect ALL people when you first meet them, period. End of story! I was taught to always be respectful of your elders, even if they seem a bit senile. I was taught to respect teachers, clergy, officers, bankers, employers and those of higher authority even when you do not agree with their choices or ethics. Smile! I was taught to be especially respectful of those who have disabilities, for theirs is a very difficult world. I was taught to be respectful of all other places and other peoples property. In short, I was taught that everyONE deserves a measure of respect until proven otherwise. Even after someone has shown to me that they really do not deserve my respect, I still treat them back in a respectful manner (usually as efficiently as possible) but with a measure of decency none the less.

Now that's not to say that there are not times when a person can be so challenging that I rapidly loose respect for them and want to tell them exactly what I think about their attitude, but honestly, I just don't go there. The fastest way for me to loose respect for someone is when they elevate themselves above everyone else. Do you know what I'm talking about? When a person walks into your story with an attitude that convey's "It's all about Me!" I quickly loose interest. Understandably in the retail world, that is the message you can expect to receive from most customers everyday. But the difference in how one customer conveys that message to the next is always amazing and astounding to me. Most of my customers, about 85%, usually are of the sharing respect theology that I adhere to and are a genuine pleasure to deal with. Occasionally though, you come across someone who does not share this mutual feeling of respect and doesn't mind letting you know. That's one of those times when I remind myself that I am worthy of respect and am a better person by not letting it get to me and not letting someone else's poor understanding of being respectful change mine.

Since tomorrow is Wellness Wednesday at The Decorative Dreamer, I'm posing this question....

What are your thoughts on the subject of RESPECT?

I remember as a teenager in high school in the late 70's and early 80's that I had several classmates of the mindset that believed respect was something you and others had to earn first and was not something that was freely or automatically given. I've never really understood this concept other then to the extent that the more integrity a person demonstrates over time the more respect they earn, but I've always thought of that as a different "level" of respect. Since we all know it is also very easy to quickly loose respect for others, I would love to hear how you personally handle that as well. I guess what I am asking here is what's your views on respect and your thoughts on respect in general in our world today? Do you think respect is still being taught to children today? Does society have a different view on respect these days then from previous years? What do you think?

Oh yeah, by the way, I turned the music back on! Woohoo! I love music and was really missing it! Feel free to silence it if it bothers you, otherwise...Enjoy!